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| A Grief Observed | 
 enlarge | Author: C. S. Lewis
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $11.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  137 reviews
Sales Rank: 3569
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 112
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.3
ISBN: 0060652381
Dewey Decimal Number: 242.4
EAN: 9780060652388
ASIN: 0060652381
Publication Date: February 1, 2001
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| Customer Reviews:
Profound and moving March 15, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Lewis, a confirmed intellectual bachelor, almost comically stumbled into a deeply romantic and erotic marriage late in life. An American poet, Joy Davidman, while visiting him in England was stricken with breast cancer. Her visa expired and she faced a mindlessly bureaucratic forced expulsion which probably would have killed her. Lewis agreed to what he expected to be a marriage of convenience, giving her a right to stay in England long enough to die peaceably. Unaccountably, almost impishly, she recovered and they became man and wife in fact and not just pro forma. Lewis was delighted, swept away and overwhelmed; he became radiantly happy.
This brief moment of joy, was snatched from him, however, as the cancer reasserted itself. Lewis poured out his profound grief at the death of his wife on paper, sharing his thoughts, feelings, longings in a journal which became A Grief Observed. Unlike some of his other works, which are witty, philosophical, almost whimsical at times, this book is deeply personal and profoundly painful, almost raw in its emotional intensity. It is also a deep testament to Lewis's faith. Like all humanity, he faced loss and suffering and death. Lewis, like Job, transforms is somehow able to hand over all this darkness to the Lord in an act of sheer faith.
My own father recently died. I found Lewis's book to be a great comfort and a powerful guide through the grieving process. I strongly recommend this to anyone who has recently lost a loved one.
One note on the edition. This edition contains a foreword by Madeline L'Engle. The foreword enhanced the book, but earlier editions had a longer foreword (or possibly an afterword) by a male friend of Lewis which I found even more moving. I particularly remember a joke in the earlier edition about Lewis being surprised by Joy. If you've read the older edition, know that the supporting material is different.
"Reality, looked at steadily, is unbearable." December 8, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I read on Wikipedia that Lewis had originally released this book under a pseudonym, N.W. Clerk. But, as it happened, so many of his friends recommended it to him as a way to deal with his own grief that he finally decided to publish it under his own name. I do not know if that was actually true, but it makes a great story. He wrote this book after his wife, Joy, died of cancer.
A Grief Observed is one of those books that get recommended in the aftermath of a death. In my case, I think of the books about loss as being divided into two categories: the dead baby books and the "oh god why" books. This is an "oh god why" book.
My flippancy does not do Lewis any real justice. It is recommended for many good reasons. I am sure that there will be a day when I find myself handing a copy to someone I love who is trying to make sense of what they are going through. But I still find myself wanting to be flippant in this review. It is a difficult book to read, and nearly as difficult to talk about in a public forum like this one. I had made the mistake of reading it during a long train ride-- wiping the tears away with the collar of my winter coat.
I would not call it a comfort to read, exactly. I guess that my own grief is still too raw. But he gets it right. He gets the physical arc of grief. He gets the ways in which it changes over time. He gets the way in which loss like this changes and illuminates the nature of the personal relationship that you have with the divine.
What I like most is that Lewis does not pull his punches. He does not find himself falling back on the kind of false homilies with which so many treat the death of a loved one. He is not easy on himself, nor is he easy on God. I recognize the bitter anger in so many of these pages. I also recognize the hopeless love for the dead-- the realization that you are lifting your hands to nothing except imagination and the unknown.
A Grief Observed November 29, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A Grief Observed is probably C.S. Lewis' finest book. Read it and find out why - whether you are in a state of grief or not.
 Lewis' Best November 21, 2007
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is one of the author's best books because it is intended for mature audiences. Those children's books are for the little boy of both sexes who never grew up. This is for people that want to get something out of it, not sit at home with kids all day and get fat and depressed their whole life. To aid the reader in times of grief. I'm still grieving over these men with a few cents to their name thinking their rich- not paying taxes, not buying groceries, but keeping up with the times. Well, it's over. They couldn't keep up with the times, wanting something right here right now. And right now I want something that will keep me from going to jail and in debt and keep my mind off drugs.
An Interesting Read September 19, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
C.S. Lewis's "A Grief Observed" is quite different from most of his other works. It is a thoroughly honest recording of his thoughts about the death of his wife. Whereas Lewis carefully argued for the compatibility of suffering and a loving God in "The Problem of Pain," he never claimed that his arguments and philosophical thinking would be any comfort for the actual suffering a person may experience. "A Grief Observed" reveals this to be the case- Lewis finds himself doubting God (mostly doubting His goodness) because of his tremendous grief.
The book is composed of four short chapters, and you can easily see changes in his demeanor and ways of thinking throughout the short book. By the end, Lewis seems to have regained a level of confidence in his faith, although he was shook to the core by the death of his wife.
For me, the book was a strange read, and I had little ability to relate to Lewis. I have not experienced such a tragic loss yet, though there is little doubt that one day, this book will connect with me on a deeper level. However, as to whether or not this short book offers a good source of comfort to those who have suffered a great loss, I cannot say. Yet, if you want to see C.S. Lewis at his most human, most honest moments, then "A Grief Observed" is the book to read.
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